Obama’s Kenyan disappearing act

This coming Monday, Kenyans will head to the polls for the first presidential election since 2007, when over 1,000 people died in postelection violence. It is the most important election in the country’s 50-year history, one which could mark the difference between a stable democratic country becoming the economic breadbasket of Africa, and a nation-state permanently divided by tribal politics and land disputes. While the country gets ready for its turn on the world stage, its most famous (half) son, Barack Obama, is missing from the conversation.

In 2002, as the son of a Foreign Service officer, I served as a 14-year-old observer in Kenya’s first truly democratic elections, Seeing Kenyans, poor and rich, old and young, cast their votes, and then, witness the victory and inauguration of the opposition candidate, Mwai Kibaki, was truly transformative. Kenya seemed primed to become the African success story – a country that had emerged from colonialism, taken control of its own future and created a stable democracy in which citizens had a real stake in their own future.

And then, 2007 happened. After an election marred by inconsistent vote tallies and definitive rigging at the polling stations, Kibaki claimed victory over opposition leader Raila Odinga. Kenyans immediately took to the streets, upset that the democracy they had worked so hard for had been snatched from their grips. A power-sharing agreement between Kibaki and Odinga was eventually brokered, but not before the electoral process was scarred.

Despite the monumental political setback, Kenya’s economy has actually thrived, growing at a 5 percent rate over the last year, propelled by an expanding financial and technological sector that has created a burgeoning middle class. Vast economic inequalities remain, but Kenya, buoyed by improving infrastructure and ripe international investment opportunities, is on the precipice of becoming the power in Africa.

But signs ahead of the upcoming election are mixed. The international community has invested countless dollars and time into ensuring the polls are peaceful, but tribal disputes are once again at the forefront. One of the two main presidential candidates, Uhuhu Kenyatta, is currently being investigated by the International Criminal Court, further complicating the election.

But there’s a key difference this time around – Barack Obama, son of a former Kenyan economist, is the president of the United States. For the majority of Kenyans, the fact that one of their native sons has become leader of the free world is a source of immense pride.

Obama’s relationship with Kenya has been mixed. Obama traveled to Kenya in the summer before attending Harvard Law School, an experience detailed in “Dreams from My Father,” and went back with his wife during his Senate tenure. But since he became president, he has distanced himself from his father’s native land.

In 2010, before Kenya’s constitutional referendum, Obama stated that, “I’m positive that before my service as president is completed I will visit Kenya again.” Yet during his first term, Obama spent less than one day in sub-Saharan Africa — a day trip to Ghana. Of the 51 countries he visited, Kenya was not on the list. Part of the reason may have been because of a desire not to allow Republicans to paint Obama as a “socialist African.” The fact remains that Obama’s lack of embrace toward his father’s heritage has confused and disappointed Kenyans.

Obama’s attention has been on the prospect of sequester states-side. He did release a three-minute YouTube video, urging Kenyans to avoid violence. Besides this, he has not spoken on the issue.

With the election days away, it is still unclear as to whether Kenyans will be able to restrengthen their democratic bonds and demonstrate that same spirit I was able to witness in 2002. What is clear, however, is that Obama has not done all he could have to ensure a peaceful result. He could have visited during his first term, meeting with leaders and community leaders, personally pushing for peaceful elections. He could have spoken up on the topic in the last few weeks and months, giving the issue his bully pulpit. Instead, he has been almost completely silent. It is an opportunity lost for a transformative figure in Kenyan life.

Warren, a former Del Mar resident, is executive director of Generation Citizen, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering young people to be active citizens.